Amsterdam day 2

After breakfast, we go on a canal cruise. The moderator is very informative about the history of Amsterdam, a city of around 600,000 people.

There are many churches here. The Catholic ones have a cross on their roof. The Protestant ones have a rooster on top of the cross. In Amsterdam, the population is mostly protestant. There was a group of French people who left France and settled in Amsterdam around the time of Martin Luther. They found sanctuary here from the persecution they experienced n France.

In 1920, there was the beginning of the use of old barges for floating homes. Today, there are around 2500 occupied. Highly sought after real estate. The average price is currently 800,000 euros for a houseboat. Those houses on land, which were built around 1600, are even more.

In the 17th C., the Dutch East India company enabled the Golden Age of Amsterdam. Huge wealth was created as a result of the importation of tea and spices. And sadly, as a result of the slave trade.

After the boat tour, we walked around a bit, checking out the sights.

Our ship left port at 1230, heading for Cologne. Lunch in the dining room was delicious.

As we traveled this afternoon, we went by pastoral scenes with farm animals as well as original windmills.

We are also going through locks, indicating we are going higher as we travel.

There was a special Captain's welcome tonight with Champagne and appis. Afterwards, a lovely dinner followed by trivia in the lounge. We are in Germany now. Passing by towns and under large bridges. It's been a great day.Read more